She Will Be Loved
by Bsalvatore
Summary: After Brittany's rejection Santana feels lost and lonely. Which member of the Glee club will surprisingly help Santana through all of this? Can Santana love someone else or will she be too afraid? -Bad at summaries! Takes place after the Landslide episode
1. Chapter 1

Santana laid in bed, the covers wrapped tightly around her shoulders, grateful that the tears stopped falling from her eyes. It had been her second day of isolation and no matter how many times she played the conversation with the blonde cheerleader in her head, it seemed that the pain would never lessen.

To put it safely, she looked like crap. Mascara was smudged under her eyes and her hair was tousled. She had even smoked a few cigarettes out of anger. Santana vividly remembered Brittany discussing her hate for those things and now smoking them just made her feel powerful. Everything that Brittany hated, she effortfully went out of her way to do it.

"Santana." A knock came at the door and the girl's voice on the other side seemed rather nervous.

Not answering, Santana slipped deeper under the covers in hopes that the person would disappear. Without much luck the girl walked inside and made a noise of disgust. "Please leave." Santana grumpily replied from under the sheets and cringed when she realized the girl walking in was her sister.

"What is this? Tissues? Has the unbreakable girl actually been broken?" The sarcastic tone was enough to make Santana throw the covers off and give her bitchiest look possible.

"You better leave before I break your surgically corrected nose." Santana growled at her.

The girl who was two years older sat at the edge of Santana's bed and acted as though Santana hadn't just threatened her. She was rather used to Santana's bitchiness for she once was just like the younger girl. Finding love and figuring herself out in college had made her loose that facade. "I'm your sister. Tell me what happened."

"Eva, get the hell out of my room."

"Fine, but mom says you have to go to school today." Eva chimed before heading towards the door. "Oh, and your rooms smells like a chair smoker's den."

Santana yelled out something vulgar in spanish and clasped her hands into tiny fists. She hated what Brittany had done to her. After months of hiding her feelings for Brittany she finally attempted to let her guard down and it had gotten her nowhere. It now only left her more broken and bitter.

Santana had prided herself in being an emotionless bitch because if you were anything but that, people would walk all over you. It happened to every girl she knew. So rather than getting stomped on, ridiculed, or broken, she had decided it was best to let go of her feelings and not care. "I hate you." She grabbed the picture beside her bed with her, Brittany, and Quinn donned in their Cherrio's uniform. After tossing the picture across the room, Santana quickly got ready for school, went downstairs, and ignored her mother's attempts at starting a conversation.

An hour later she pulled into McKinley's parking lot and stepped out of the car, head held high. If there was any reason she'd agreed to get out of bed this morning it was to show Brittany that she didn't care. That being blown off for some stupid boy in a wheelchair didn't affect her.

"Hello Santana." That overly sweet voice was enough to send Santana insane. The petite brunette walked up with to Santana as though they were best friends and gave her what seemed to be a look of pity. I'm assuming the rumors aren't true. Of course I didn't think they were, hence why I didn't send you anything."

Santana pretended as though the girl hadn't said anything and even turned her head away. It took all her might not to say anything nasty to Rachel Berry or better known as RuPaul, Manhands, and Hobbit. She was saving all her bitterness for the one and only Brittany.

"I think I know why you were out of school the past two days ..." Rachel's voice became more quiet and hesitant. "I know we've never been good friends, let alone actually friends, but I kind of get what you're going through and well ... you can always talk to me."

Santana and Rachel were just about to reach the front door when Santana grabbed the girl's arm. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about Berry. You don't know why I was out of school and you'll never get it. How about you don't play therapist and bother someone else." The feisty girl forcefully let go of Rachel's arm and quickly headed inside.

A feeling of nerves rode inside her stomach as think that Rachel might know what was wrong. Even though the girl was completely self-centered and egotistic, she had an eye for picking up on things that you didn't want people to find out.

The thing that scared her though was if Berry did know, maybe other people did. It was hard enough to actually face the facts that she liked a girl, but it also hard to know that Brittany was picking someone else over her.

Heading to her locker, she spotted Brittany and Quinn talking down the hall. She bit her lip and headed the other way. This was going to be harder than she thought. Seeing Brittany had just sent another mix of feelings rush through her and if she was going to act like Brittany's rejection didn't bother her than she couldn't become weak at the knees.

She needed to find Sam, her boyfriend who she was just using for personal reasons. No actual feelings were involved in this relationship and even Sam knew that. Every time they made out she could still tell that Sam was hung up on Quinn.

She made her way to Sam's locker and spotted him talking to Puck and Lauren, his eyes became wide with surprise when he spotted her coming their way. "Santana! What happened to you? I've been calling non-stop, don't you check your phone?" Sam gave his girlfriend a quick kiss and slung his arm around her.

"Sorry, I haven't had my phone on." Santana explained. "My aunt just died and my mom needed some company." She lied through her teeth and instantly regretted that because she knew that would come with some sympathetic looks even though many people disliked her.

"Aw, baby." Sam kissed her again and Santana pushed him off.

"Did you change cologne?" Santana sniffed his neck and contorted her face. "No me gusta."

"Sorry, I'll go back to the other one."

Puck made a little swishing sound to represent a whip and Sam shot daggers in his direction. "See, me and my baby girl are equals in this relationship." Puck boasted and received a slap from the girl wrestler. "Ouch."

"Like you aren't whipped." Lauren drawled and pulled Puck through the hallway.

An awkward silence fell as Sam and her stood alone in the hallway. Santana had noted that even though people may have texted and call her in sympathy to find out what happened to her, no one actually came to her house to see if something was wrong. Sometimes she hated the person she had chosen to become. Many people went out of their ways to avoid her in the hallway, afraid she might say something nasty and though she had friends none, most of them actually feared her.

Brittany had been her one true friend, the only person to ever see her cry when her dog died or when father had come home in a drunken state and hit her mother. It had been Brittany to sense something wrong and immediately help the girl into recovery. Sometimes she felt she could count Quinn as a friend, but with her stealing Sam, it was obvious that Quinn wanted nothing to do with the Latina.

"So?" Sam scratched the side of his head. "We have a new theme this week for Glee club."

"Fantastic." Santana sarcastically replied as the two walked down the hallway holding hands.

"It's duets again. This time we can't choose though." Sam sighed with disappointment.

Santana's stomach dropped thinking back to the first time they had to sing duets. She had chosen Brittany's name out of the hat. "Who am I with?"

"Oh, we haven't chosen yet. Rachel insisted that we wait for you." Sam explained. "She can be so annoying."

Santana tensed at the though of Rachel's second act of kindness and wanted to tell the girl to stay out of her life. She didn't need anyone to help her through this, especially not Rachel. "Let's go skip first period and make out in the locker room." Santana whispered into Sam's ear.

"What? No, I can't."

"It'll be fun." She kissed his neck and ran her hand along his back.

Sam quickly backed away and gave a confused look. "What's up with you? Something's different."

"Nothing's different." Santana angrily fired at him and headed the other direction. Maybe she could change schools because right now she rather be anywhere but here.

- It might be a little slow in the beginning, I just want to set things up. Let me know if you guys like it! -

disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything Glee


	2. Chapter 2

Santana found herself walking along the football fields of Mckinley High. She didn't think she could handle first period in which she sat right behind Brittany. She'd always enjoyed health class first period because her and Brittany would pass notes back and forth and sometimes Brittany's complete stupidity could really make her laugh. Santana found herself wondering what life would be like if she hadn't decided to be so heartless and void of emotions. Maybe she would've actually been with Brittany and who knows, maybe she would've first tried out for Glee club instead of being forced to join by Quinn.

A big part of who she was had a lot to do with her past. Having a father for a surgeon and a mother who drank Tequila like it was her job left Santana feeling neglected at home. Even though Eva had been there for her a number of times it still never made up for the fact that she rarely saw her parents let alone felt loved by them.

"What are you doing out here?" The bitchy tone could only belong to none other than Quinn Fabray. Her blonde hair was hanging just past her shoulders and that icy look practically gave Santana chills.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" Santana retorted and matched Quinn's icy look.

"I let my jacket out here." Quinn grabbed the lone jacket that was lying on the ground. She stood up and gave Santana a quizzical look. "Can I ask you something?"

Santana placed a hand firmly on her hip and pursed her lips together. She wasn't in the mood to get in a fight with Quinn, but if it came down to it Santana wouldn't have a problem knocking her ex-best friend out. "If you must."

"For the past week I've been trying to figure out why is it you do the things you do? Why steal Sam from me? Why sext Puck when you clearly knew he was with me? Why find the need to deflower Finn when you knew he had no feelings for you?"

Santana felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach and for about a quick second thought she may slap the girl right in the face. A feeling of anger and heat was washing over her quickly and a look of fire went off in her eyes. "Why?" She yelled.

"Yes, why?"

Santana took a second and thought about it. Why? Because no one loved Santana, because the person she loved she couldn't have, because she truly was heartless. "I really want to punch you right now. I just wanna take my tanned hand and slap it straight across your face."

"Then why aren't you?" Quinn asked with a confidence in her voice. "We both know you can take me out."

Santana curled her hands into fists and glared at Quinn. "Wanna know why I do those things? It's because I'm the head bitch around here. It's who I am."

"That's a lie."

"How is that a lie?"

"There's deeper reasons for your actions than just 'it's who I am'. I remember the Santana in ninth grade and yeah, she was complete bitch, but a lovable bitch. Now I don't even recognize you. I guess I can understand the Puck and Finn thing. But why take Sam from me? I thought you were my friend, actually my best friend." Quinn inched closer and closer to Santana. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing!" Santana screamed at Quinn, which caused the blonde girl to practically trip backwards. "Now get the hell out of my sight before I get really angry."

A scared and defeated looking Quinn headed the other way and into the school.

x-x-x

"Sorry about earlier." Sam took the seat beside Santana in the choir room for Glee club. "You know I wanted to skip, but-"

"But whatever. I don't care." Santana looked at the boy and gave a roll of her eyes. "I want to go to Breadstixs tonight." She randomly declared to Sam.

Though most of this relationship was just to make people jealous or prove that they weren't hung up on someone else, it was also to not feel alone. Even though Santana didn't like Sam, he was still there when she needed someone.

"Uh, okay. I'll make a reservation for us tonight." Sam quickly replied and clicked number 8 on his speed dial. He arranged a dinner at six just before Mr. Shuester walked into the class.

His hands held a small box that was filled with tiny pieces of paper with their names. "Okay guys, so as we all know we're going to being doing duets." He placed the tiny box on the piano and clamped his hands together. "Rachel insisted that we wait for you, Santana." Mr. Shue announced and Santana could see the red grow in Rachel's cheeks. "Alright, so, Finn. Come choose."

Finn's awkwardly tall body went up to the piano and he fished through the box. "Mike." He announced and the dancer game a thumbs up. The two were never close, but they always seemed to a nice friendship.

"Santana, what about you?" Mr. Shue motioned for her to step forward and she did.

Santana fished her hand through all the names and made mental notes of who she didn't want. She could not be with Artie, and no Quinn, she didn't know if she wanted to get Brittany's name or not, and the no way in hell would she want- "Manhands." Santana spoke the bitter name out and glared in the tiny girl's direction.

Rachel looked defeated when instead of being recognized by her name, she was called out with one of the hurtful nicknames. She didn't say anything, but instead just pulled out a tiny notebook and scribbled something.

Santana went back to her seat and felt Sam's around slide around her. "It's okay. We'll be done with these duets in a week or so."

"Yeah, great." Santana mumbled.

The duets were finally done with being chosen and it had been that Quinn was paired with Brittany, Sam with Lauren, Puck with Tina, and Mercedes had announced that didn't want a duet partner. Mr. Shue had annoyingly agreed that Mercedes could do a solo.

"Don't forget, I'm picking you up at six." Sam called out before having to rush to the other side of the school to talk to coach Bieste.

Santana slowly packed up hoping that Artie and Brittany would leave quickly. She still wasn't up to making contact with the girl and she finally turned around to see that everyone had left room except for Rachel. "What?" Santana growled as the brunette waited by the door.

"I just wanted to see when you would like to get together for out duet. I'm sure you're busy and all so I thought of a few songs we could do." Rachel showed Santana the pad she had been writing in. "I know that you may not want to be my partner and all, but this is the way the cards were dealt. I'm still here if you need to talk and I hope that-"

"Rachel, you seriously need stop talking." Santana sighed and realized she had just called the girl by her actual name. She looked at Rachel and noticed she had picked up on the same thing. "I need to head to math. Just put your number in my phone and we'll set up a time later." Santana waited for the girl to dial in the digits and headed to off to class.

She had never thought of herself as having bad luck, but being paired with Rachel was nothing but that. The only person who may actually know about her and Brittany was the girl she just had to be paired with. Santana wondered what it would be like to actually talk about her feelings. The thought frightened her and she swore that if she had to work with Rachel, it would include Santana making many threats for the girl to keep hush about everything she knew.


	3. Chapter 3

Slipping on her tightest dress she had in the closet, Santana walked up to her full length mirror and did a quick take of herself. She knew she looked irresistible and made her way downstairs to greet Sam at the door. His mouth fell agape as she opened it and he then gave her a goofy grin. "Wow, Santana, you look ... wow."

"Let's go, I'm star-" Just as she gripped Sam's hand, her eyes caught sight of two people sitting in the back of Sam's SUV. "What the hell?" A look of fear came across her face when she made out that those two people were Brittany and Artie.

"I invited Artie and Brittany. You two are best friends and after seeing your performance with Brittany, I thought it would be cool if me and Artie could be that close." Sam's smile etched even further for he didn't realize how angry Santana was about to become.

Her nails dug into Sam's palm and she did a double take at the car. She could make out Brittany's blonde hair pulled back, her eyes smiling at Santana through the window. Santana tried to forget the butterfly feeling in her stomach, but it wouldn't stop.

"Is something wrong?" Sam asked when he noticed the look on Santana's face.

"What?" Santana snapped out of her stare. "I just thought it would be fun if it could be the two of us." She whispered in his ear and kissed his neck.

"Oh, well ... I could disinvite them."

Santana nodded, but then realized that Brittany would catch on that she still cared. Brittany may be stupid, but she was observant and easily picked up on Santana's emotions. "No, that would just involve being late to dinner and I'm hungry." She grabbed Sam's arm again and pulled him to the car.

Once she got in, Artie gave a small wave, he'd always been slightly terrified of Santana and tried to keep on her good side. "Nice dress." Artie commented. Santana rolled her eyes and didn't respond. She just put the radio on and kept her eyes glued to the window.

The four minute drive had consisted of Artie and Sam talking about football while the two girls just kept quiet. Sam started helping Artie out of the car when they arrived and told the two girls to go ahead and get the table. Without even taking a look back, Santana practically ran in the restaurant hoping that Brittany would stay back and informed the lady about their reservation.

"We just have to set your table up." The hostess politely told her, but Santana signaled her to hurry it up.

"S." Brittany's quiet voice made Santana's stomach twist in knots. "Look at me." The blonde begged.

"Can you please not talk to me?" Santana replied as softly as she could.

Brittany stood in front of Santana and her eyes showed a sign of disappointment. "Why are you being so mean to me?" Her lips puckered out and Santana tried her best not to crumble under the girl's watch. "I may still be with Artie, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Santana just stood there, her mouth not moving for she didn't know what to say. The girl was so dense, how could she not realize that Santana's confession of love meant that they could longer be just friends. Santana would always want more.

"I love you S. I miss you so much." Brittany sighed just as the hostess came over and led them to one of the booth. "You're making me hurt inside."

"Well, you're hurting me too." Santana countered before she noticed Sam wheeling Artie in. "Don't bring any of this up dinner, got it?"

Brittany nodded with hurt and hid behind her menu. All throughout high school Santana never had the heart to be mean to Brittany. She was the one person who actually saw most of Santana's good side. Part of it was due to the lack of intelligence Brittany had, but another part was the fact that Brittany so often went out of her way to do kinds things for Santana.

"Maybe I'll get the super deluxe pasta special." Brittany's mood changed quickly and she shut the menu.

"Uh, don't you think that's a little too much for you." Artie gave her a soft smile.

"Oh, of course I couldn't eat it all. I'd take the left overs home for my cat."

The other three just gave her a questioning look and ignored her outlandish comment. They were used to those by now.

Looking up from the menu again, Santana caught Brittany whispering something in Artie's ear and it made her feel sick. Could she really sit through an hour of this?

To make matters worse Sam had also caught the two and began intertwining his fingers with hers. Santana feverishly pulled away and took a long sip of water. "I think I'm getting sick." Santana muttered.

"Really? What hurts?" Sam asked with worry and reached out for her hand again.

"I think I'm going to head home." Santana stood up and pushed her chair in.

"Let me drive you home."

"No, stay."

"What? No, I'm driving you home."

"I'm insisting you stay? Got it?" Santana gave him a warning look and snagged a few breadsticks. Heading out the restaurant, she didn't know how she was getting home, but she didn't care. As long as she was out of there nothing else mattered.

Going through her contacts she wondered who might be able to pick her up. Seven of the cheerleaders names popped into her head, but she knew that meant she actually needed their help. Quinn? After what happened she doubted Quinn would do anything for her. Mercedes? Though they often argued, the two had a weird bond ... no ... Puck? Santana called Puck and hoped he would pick up, but after the fourth ring it just went into voicemail. Santana threw her head back with frustration, but then remembered the new number she had programed into her phone earlier that day.

Clicking SEND, Santana was just about to regret calling this person when they picked up on the first ring. "Hello, this is Rachel Berry. How may I help you?"

"Do you actually answer the phone like that every time?" Santana spoke with a little humor in her voice and instantly regretted calling RuPaul. She felt so weak right now asking the irritating girl for help.

"No Santana, just when I don't know the number." Rachel explained. "I'm guessing you're calling about setting up a time to practice on the duet. I'll admit I'm a little surprised, I thought I'd have to find your number from someone else and call you."

"Well, actually ..." Santana's voice trailed off and she didn't know if she had it in her to ask Rachel for a ride. "I need a favor."

"A favor? Wait, is this some kind of joke? If I agree to whatever you're going to ask will I be bombarded with slushies or something?"

"Can you pick me up from Breadstixs." Santana spoke the sentence quickly and bit the inside of her lip waiting for the answer.

A moment of silence fell across the line and Santana wondered if Rachel was still there. "Really?" Rachel finally spoke and there was obvious wonderment in her voice.

"Yes really. Can you or not? I need to know."

"Uh, yes, of course. I'll be right there." Rachel hung up.

Santana was grateful the the girl didn't ask any questions. On rare occasions Santana was sometimes surprised with Rachel. Sometimes the petite girl would do something that really just shocked Santana and she found herself almost liking the girl. That was until she would brag about her talent or hang all over Finn.

In a matter of minutes Rachel pulled up in what Santana assumed was one of her father's car. "Thanks dwarf." Santana sarcastically smiled as she got into the car.

"Really Santana? I pick you up, no questions asked and you still find pleasure in being mean to me?" Rachel asked and looked hurt. "Isn't there anything I can do right in your eyes?"

Santana's eyes widened and she felt almost bad. The girl really had it rough and most of the torture the girl had to endure everyday was due to her. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Woah, what? Did you - did you just apologize?" Rachel laughed and seemed genuinely happy that Santana had said sorry. She put the car into drive and left the restaurant.

"You better not tell anyone about this or I swear Berry."

"Of course, you wouldn't want people thinking you're a nice human being. What a horror! Could you imagine?" Rachel grinned at Santana who smiled back at Rachel's humor.

On the way to Santana's house, she informed Rachel how to get there. She even realized that Rachel wasn't all that bad when she was outside of Glee club. No bragging, no obnoxious comments, and thankfully no hanging on Finn's every word. It even seemed that Rachel was actually wearing a decent outfit at the moment - simple black shirt and jeans.

"Okay, here you go." Rachel put the car in park.

Santana hated to admit it, but she didn't want to leave Rachel. It wasn't that she suddenly liked the girl, she just hated to be alone, especially when she was sad. It was one of the many reasons she hooked up with so many guys. If she wasn't going to be given attention by her parents then she'd have to find it somewhere else. "Do you want to come in?"


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel hesitantly walked into Santana's room as though a slushy may be thrown in her face at any second. "Hey, RuPaul, I'm not going to pull any pranks. Stop walking like there's eggshells under your feet."

An annoyed look occupied Rachel's face and then she gave Santana an angry glare. "Can you please not call me by those horrible nicknames? If you refuse to call me Rachel, can you at least call me Berry?"

"Fine." Santana sighed and lied down on her bed. She patted the place beside her and felt the weight of Rachel next to her.

"I can honestly say I never thought I'd ever be inside your room." Rachel got up on her elbows and looked around. "It fits you. Edgy, but then there's still the little areas of softness."

"Who says I'm soft?" Santana got up on her elbows as well.

"Oh Santana, I can see right through your tough girl persona. Inside you're just waiting for someone to uncover the real you. Actually, I think someone has. That person being Brittany and I'm pretty sure-"

Santana covered the girl's mouth and ordered her to shut up. "Don't mention her name, alright?" Rachel nodded quickly and waited for the girl to move her hand, but Santana just kept it there. "I kind of like this. A silent Rachel ... it suits you."

Rachel pulled Santana's hand away and got up. "I'm leaving."

"Wait, why?" Santana asked, a little concern in her voice.

"Seriously?" Rachel sighed. "I actually thought that you inviting me in meant that we could become friends. You know what, not even friends, just two people who could have a conversation without the hurtfulness." Santana could see the hurt in Rachel's eyes. Every stab Santana took at Rachel, every torturous thing she did really got to the the girl.

Santana took a deep breath and titled her head back. "Please don't go." She said through gritted teeth. As much as Santana hated to admit it, part of her wanted to become friends with Rachel. As many flaws as the girl had, there were a lot of things Santana kind of liked about her. She was more generous than any of other person Santana knew and she was forgiving, something Santana always wished she was.

What would people think though? If they saw her being nice to Rachel her position on the ladder would definitely go below Quinn's. But what was worse? Being lonely or not being the head bitch in charge? "I won't be mean. I promise." Santana got up, grabbed Rachel's arm, and pulled her back on the bed.

The two lied there in silence.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Rachel asked.

"It's who I am." Santana quoted what she told Quinn earlier.

"No, really. I've never done anything to you. If anything I've tried so hard for you to like me, but nothing works."

Santana turned to the girl and felt guilt wash over her. It actually hurt Santana to see the way Rachel looked. "Yeah, right." Santana rolled her eyes and turned away not being able to look at Rachel anymore.

"Can you just tell me why you hate me so much?" Rachel pleaded and turned Santana towards her. "I know I can be obnoxious and self-centered. I get that I talk way too much, but no one hates me the way you do. I don't get it."

Santana crumbled under Rachel's words and reached out for the girl's hand. In some ways, Santana's life felt similar to Rachel's. In school Rachel was neglected by her peers and at home Santana was neglected by her parents. The thing was, Santana was kind of jealous of Rachel. She knew that the girl would go on to bigger and better things than McKinley, but Santana feared she'd become a Lima loser. All her life she told herself she'd leave Lima because she was speical, but growing up Santana saw how many graduates of McKinley didn't even make it out of the state. "I don't ... I don't hate you Rachel." Santana admitted and released her hand.

Though a day ago Santana would swear to her death that she hated Rachel, when it came down to it, it was more jealousy than anything. Rachel was able to keep her head held high even after everything she went through at McKinley. She knew that at the end of everything she'd be out of Lima soon enough.

"Do you really mean that?" Rachel beamed at Santana and held Santana's hand up to her face. The expression on the girl was one that Santana enjoyed seeing.

"I think I do." Santana mumbled and let go of Rachel's hand. "Remember what I said about not telling anyone about this Berry? I mean it. Just because I'm being nice to you doesn't mean we're friends." The Latina sat up and became a little defensive.

Rachel rolled her eyes and nodded her head. "I already said I wouldn't."

The two girls spent the next two hours just talking. Well, Rachel mostly talked about broadway related things while Santana would come in with her sarcastic comments. It was far from a friendship, but something about the banter made both girls happy inside. Rachel liked that Santana was actually listening even if Santana kept insulting plays such as 42nd Street or Chorus Line and Santana liked that Rachel was tough enough to take Santana's humor.

"Is it really ten?" Rachel sat up quickly and fished for the car keys from her pocket. "My fathers are going to be worried about me, I need to get home." She went to head downstairs, but then stopped in her tracks. With a pleased look on her face, she went over to Santana and gave a hug.

At first Santana tensed up, she hated hugs. The only the hugs she liked were from Brittany, but other than that hugs were horrible and awkward. Rachel kept her arms tightly around Santana though and after a second or two Santana did relax a little and sort of enjoyed the warm feeling of what could be a friendship.

When Rachel pulled away, Santana gave a questioning look. "What was that for?"

"I don't know. I just - I ..." Rachel stood in the doorframe and seemed as though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "I like spending time with you even if you enjoy mocking me or insulting my likes. I enjoy this. Whatever this is." And with that Rachel left leaving Santana a little stunned.

Lying on her back, Santana tried so hard to deny the warmth inside her. What was this? Santana stared annoyingly at her stomach and tried shoo the feeling away, but it sat in the pit of her stomach. After thirty minutes of trying to name all the bad qualities about Rachel, it was obvious that none of them mattered. Santana had genuinely enjoyed spending time with Rachel. With Rachel, she didn't feel lonely and more importantly she didn't think about Brittany.

x - x - x

Santana slowly dragged herself to Sam's locker knowing she'd have to go through a set of questions about last night. Before heading to bed Santana had looked at her phone and found that Sam had called six times and left three voicemails. Not having the energy to call him back, Santana noted she would talk to him the next day.

"Hey." Santana casually stood beside Sam. Her fingers found their way through his hair and she knew that Sam would soon express his anger about her leaving. "About last night, I didn't feel well, no need to get into it."

"No need to get into?" The blonde turned to Santana and she noticed his eye was all red. "I was so embarrassed by your-"

"Hold up!" Santana examined the red around his eye. "What happened?"

Sam covered his eye and shook Santana off of him. "Nothing." He mumbled and shut his locker door.

"That's not nothing." Santana grabbed Sam's shoulder and gave him her angry stare. "Now you better tell me what happened."

Sam scratched his head and looked for something to distract Santana. "I'm not mad about last night, people make mistakes."

The Latina started getting angry and she gripped his shoulders tightly. "You better start explaining about the eye thing."

"Go ask Rachel." Sam said in a defeated manner and headed off in the other direction.


	5. Chapter 5

Waves of students fled to the corners of the hallway as Santana Lopez stormed through the halls in a search for Rachel Berry. Her angered expression made everyone whimper in fear as she turned the corners and spotted Rachel at her locker. The tiny girl was fixing her brown locks and humming a tune Santana didn't recognize. "Well Hobbit, you have a lot of explaining to do." The fiery Latina seethed.

Rachel backed up a few steps and held her books close to her chest as though to protect herself from the monster before her. "I thought we were done with the mean nicknames."

"That was until you slapped my boyfriend."

"Oh." Rachel nodded and her cheeks became flushed with embarrassment.

Scanning her eyes around the hall, Santana noticed clumps of people waiting for see if a fight was about to erupt. She even spotted two boys pulling out money to make a bet. With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed the tiny girl's hand and dragged her into the nearest bathroom. "Leave." The ex-cheerleader yelled to two freshman and the girls quickly exited. She may not have been one of Sylvester's minions anymore, but she was still feared her. "If you don't explain the situation quickly you're going to have a matching black eye."

Rachel blinked in terror. "Okay, I can explain. I will, it's just so embarrassing. Can't Sam tell you what happened?"

Santana was becoming very impatient now and just wanted to hear the full story. Her fiery temper was reaching a boiling point and the fire in her eyes showed it. "Spill, Berry."

With a deep breath, Rachel ran her hands through her hair and gave a quick nod. "I arrived at school early this morning and decided to walk around the other side of the building near the locker rooms when I spotted Quinn and Sam talking." Rachel began and noticed Santana tense up at the idea of Quinn and Sam. "Anyway, I kind of hovered by, incognito of course, and tried to read their lips. Well, let's just say my lip reading skills aren't up to par. Turns out Sam wasn't sweet talking Quinn, but rather asking her about you in relation to what happened with your escape at dinner." Rachel gave a weak smile in hopes that taller and clearly stronger girl wouldn't do anything drastic.

"So, you hit him?" Santana cocked her head to the side and gave a wide smile. "You hit him on my behalf?"

"Yes." Rachel's cheeks turned pink again and she slowly started pacing the room. "Just after the whole thing you went through with Britt- Uh, I mean, well, you know ... I just didn't think you deserved to be hurt anymore than you already have."

Santana started laughing and slapped the girl on the back. "You've got some balls Berry. I knew you had it in you, but to hit Sam? Jeez, you really are some Jewish fireball." Rachel grinned up at Santana and seemed overjoyed that Santana wasn't angry. That smile quickly faltered though and Santana had caught it. "What's wrong?"

"After Sam explained what they had been talking about it was also brought to my attention that Quinn is now dating Finn." The brunette spoke quietly.

Santana's mouth became a thin line and she knew this would shake up the social ladder. That immediately put Quinn at the top. Dating Finn, the school's quarterback was an instant social boost, that is if you're not socially doomed Rachel. For a second all she could think about was how that meant Quinn was better than her. Would people fear her less? They couldn't, she was Santana Freaking Lopez.

A few tears ran down Rachel's face and her hands quickly tried to wipe them away, but Santana had caught the girl's sadness. All of the sudden her popularity didn't matter and she just wanted to comfort the brunette. "Oh, uh ..." Santana went over to console the girl, but she didn't know how to react. In Brittany and hers relationship it was usually Brittany doing the comforting to Santana. Rubbing the girl's back, Santana went on to criticize the awkward boy and Christian girl. "You're so much better than them Rachel, really."

Rachel's head shot up and she wore her biggest smile yet. "You just said Rachel! You just said Rachel" The girl jumped up and down as three sophomore girls entered the bathroom.

"Oh my god." Santana covered her face before playfully slapping the brunette. "You're so embarrassing."

The two girls exited the bathroom and noticed that the halls were not empty. "Crap, the bell must have rang. See you in Glee." The Latina called over her shoulder and headed towards health class. As quietly as possible, she slipped into the classroom with a dirty look from the teacher. "Lo siento." She said with acidity.

"Hi S." The blonde girl in front of her turned and gave a big smile. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yep."

"My cat got sick last night from the food so I made her a card to feel better and ..." Brittany shuffled through her bag and pulled out a pink piece of paper. "I made you one too."

The raven haired girl accepted the card and melted inside. Just when she thought she may be getting over the blonde she had to do something to rope her back in without even realizing it. _Feel beter S. I miss you. - B _the card had said and along with it was a picture of the two girls at some carnival. "Thanks B." Santana mumbled as she stuffed the card into her notebook.

"Your welcome." The blonde smiled grandly and turned back around.

_Dammit Brittany! Stop doing this to me! _

x - x - x

"Awh, baby." Santana laughed as she held an ice pack to Sam's eye.

"Whatever, she was just at a good angle." Sam grumbled as he came up with another excuse as to why Rachel's slap had really got him good.

The two had gotten over last nights dinner and Santana still couldn't stop laughing whenever Sam winced over Rachel's hit. Sam had been extra whiney today and she guessed it was because of Quinn and Finn's recent get-together. Out of the corner of her eye she watched he two hold hands and act as though they had never even broken up. Moving her eyes a little upward she caught Rachel's longing stare, her eyes clinging to the way Finn was looking at Quinn. It made the insides of Santana turn with uneasiness to see the girl so sad.

"As I've been going around and asking about the duets, it seems as though no one has even talked to their partner about song choice or anything." Mr. Shue came in and sat angrily in one of the hard chairs. "I guess I'm just going to have a to give an incentive."

"Breadstix gift card!"

"Song chose at Sectionals!"

"Cat food."

"A solo."

Mr. Shue shook his head at all the suggestions and looked stumped. "Something more ... Got it!" He shot up with excitement and rubbed his hands together. "I've got the most amazing prize this club has seen!"

All eyes went wide and they scooted forward in their seats with anticipation.

"Before my recent break up with a certain someone," Mr. Shue said with disappoint. "I had booked a room at the Marriott twenty minutes away. With the room comes room service, an excellent restaurant downstairs, a pool, hot tub, and very nice lobby. Whoever wins gets the room. And don't worry there's two twin beds, it was the only room I could get."

Most people would have been hesitant to accept this prize, but the members of the Glee club were all a little selfish and anything free that came with a pool and good food was a blessing.

All of the kids talked excitedly and thought of ways to beat out their competition. Rachel and Santana exchanged an excited look and gave each other a nod knowing they had it in the bag. **Come over later to start practicing? **Santana had texted Rachel and received a yes back.

Santana had to win, she wanted to win. Growing up in the Lopez household she was taught that winning was everything. She could just imagine rubbing it in all of their obnoxious little faces and then later sitting in the nice hot tub with Rachel. Or without Rachel, Santana corrected in her head, it didn't really matter.


	6. Chapter 6

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS

I love hearing your comments :)

"Sans, get your ass in here." Eva called from the living room, her mouth stuffed with popcorn. "Have you ever seen

this movie?" She pointed to the television screen where a hooded figure was holding a knife. "It's hilarious."

Santana and Eva had a weird thing for horribly made horror films. They thought the over done drama and scary music was knee cracking. "No." Santana stated without much enthusiasm. She was sick of her sister hanging around the house and couldn't wait till she went back to college. "Is mom home?"

"Nope, I think she went to the liquor store." Eva turned around after pausing the movie. "How have things been?"

"Fine." Santana told her dryly and went to grab a water bottle from the kitchen.

"Hey, hold it." Eva called and got up off the couch. "I'm serious. Has the drinking lessened? Is dad still coming home late?"

Santana scratched her head with annoyance and kept on walking to the kitchen with Eva trailing behind. The only thing she hated more than feelings were talking about feelings and bullshit like that. The more she opened the more vulnerable and weak she felt. "Yeah, they've been fine. Now leave me alone." Santana growled and headed up to her bedroom.

Honestly, her mom's drinking was only getting worse and her dad ... well, that was a whole other story. When she saw how much pity the Glee club had given Quinn after being kicked out it made her squirm with uneasiness. Santana felt bad that Quinn had almost all of her dirty laundry aired out for the whole world to see and knew that is she was put in that position her bitch level would rise past lethal.

Placing her head on the pillow she dozed off ...

"Santana." A pair of hands shook the sleeping girl. "Wake up." Santana was starting shift on the bed and the pair of hands pushed her again.

"Go away Eva." The Latina grumbled and turned to see Rachel Berry standing above her. "Oh, Berry." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "Sorry, I thought you were my sister."

"It's fine. I tried to texting you to see what time to come over, but when you never answered I decided to stop by. I can leave though, I feeling bad waking you." Rachel spoke quickly and picked her purse off the floor.

"No, don't go." Santana sat up and encouraged Rachel to stay. Having Rachel around made the loneliness disappear for a while.

Rachel rolled around in the desk chair while Santana went downstairs to get some food before they started on the duet. As she made her way around the room she spotted a young Santana and her family standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, the picture did little justice to Santana's radiant smile.

"Okay let's get started." Santana walked through the door chewing on licorice when she spotted Rachel staring at the photo. "What?"

"Oh nothing ... you look really happy in this." She ran her along Santana's wide smile, but quickly put the photo back when Santana started giving her a dirty look. "Alright, let's get to song picking."

"Let me warn you Berry, no Broadway crap or Barbra Streisand."

"It upsets me that you can't fully embrace the beauty of Broadway and influential singers." Rachel shook her head as she pulled a piece of paper from her bag. "But, no worries Santana. I found the perfect song for us. Rolling in the Deep by Adele. Your voice would sound amazing and I feel both our past relationships could really help us relate to the heartbreak she is talking about." Rachel's face was lit up with such excitement that Santana just nodded along. "Although this song is difficult to sing and will require much practice, I feel we can really win with this."

At that moment Rachel could've probably suggested some High School Musical song and Santana would agree to it. It was amazing how excited Rachel could get about something, it was admirable. The way her mouth talked at the speed of lightning, the way her eyes truly sparkled with spirit - so people many found it annoying, but after being around it for so long Santana seemed to appreciate it.

An hour passed and Rachel was still coaching Santana through some vocal warm ups. It was obvious that Santana was becoming bored and her effort started declining. "Let's take a break." Santana suggested as she pulled her hair back. "I need to ask you something."

"Yes?" Rachel puckered her lips in wonderment as to what the girl wanted to know.

"How do you about my, uh, feelings for Brittany?" Santana picked at her nails with uncomfortableness. She had been wondering this since the girl had brought the whole situation up.

Rachel fell on the bed and gave a tiny smile. "I first could tell from the way you looked at her and the way you treat her. The way you have patience with her, it's not see the love you have for her. Also I saw you in the hall. The day you talked to her."

"Oh."

"I've seen you cry many times, well, the whole club has, but I've never seen you cry like that. It actually proved that you were, well, human." Rachel laughed and it instantly lightened the mood. Santana grabbed a pillow and slapped Rachel with it. "I mean before that I honestly thought you could be part robot."

"Shut up Berry!" Santana hit her once more. "You know, it kind of sounds like you were watching me ... a little too much. I might start to think you like me."

"Oh, please." Rachel rolled her eyes and this time it was her who threw the pillow at the other girl. "Let's get back to singing."

x - x - x

"Want to come over tonight? My parents are going out." Sam asked as he stuffed the hot dog into his mouth.

Santana raised her eyes in disgust. Though she wasn't in the mood to spend time with the naive and annoying boy, she did want to get her mack on ... "Sure."

"Awesome." He grinned and waved his hands over his head when she spotted a certain blonde. "Hey! Quinn, over here." Quinn can a hesitant look and pulled Finn in tow.

"What the hell are you doing?" Santana growled as she dug her nails into her palm. The last person she wanted to eat lunch with was Quinn. "I swear to god Sam, you're dead." She whispered before the pair sat down.

"Hi guys." Finn grinned with obliviousness. Him and Sam seemed to work out the whole Quinn deal, but the tension between the two girls were so apparent. "I'm starving." He bit into his lunch before going on to talk about football with Sam.

The two girls just sat there not saying one word. Santana found it irritating that her boyfriend had forgiven Quinn and Finn so easily. If there were awards for who could hold grudges the longest, Santana would have it in the bag.

"Santana, we should talk." Quinn leaned over to the table so the boys wouldn't hear.

"No, we shouldn't."

"Please." Quinn flipped her hair and gave that whole innocent look. "Santana, come on. Doesn't our friendship mean anything to you?"

Santana didn't say anything. Though she didn't want to talk to blonde or fix anything she couldn't lie and say the friendship didn't mean anything. Before Glee club started, the two girls along with Brittany had been inseparable and there had been many good times. More than Santana would've liked to admit, but for some reason she couldn't find it in her to say sorry. The thing that Santana couldn't figure out was why Quinn wanted to fix things in the first place. Santana was the one who had been a complete bitch so why was the ex-celibacy club leader trying to work everything out?

Whenever she thought about their friendship though, she was disappointed by one aspect of it. The moment she found out that Quinn's parents were over-bearing and similar to her own, she had been upset that her so-called friend never reached out to Santana. Santana had once reached out to Quinn and it had been the hardest thing she had ever had to do, but in the end she had been glad ...

"_You're a disgrace to this family Santana. A disgrace." Mrs. Lopez yelled out in all her drunkenness and took another sip from the third wine bottle. "You're a no good fifteen year old who will go nowhere in life because you're a bitch and have no respect for anyone but yourself."_

_Santana felt the tears start to slide down her face as she stood at the bottom on the stairs. Her eyes stuck on the drunken mess in front of her. "Why are you being so mean?" She questioned. _

"_I'm not being mean. I'm being honest." _

"_I'm leaving." Santana cried to her mom and without looking back as she ran out the front door. Where could she go? And how would she get there? This time a new set of tears came and Santana ran down the sidewalk not caring where she ended up. _

_Quinn's she finally thought. _

_Almost an hour later she arrived at Quinn's dripped in sweat and tears. It took twenty minutes of standing at the front door before she finally got the courage to ring the doorbell. _

"_Santana? Why are you-" Quinn's face appeared when the door opened, her eyes widened at the sad looking girl. "Come here." She embraced the raven-haired girl. _

_After Quinn brought her inside, the girl took a shower and found herself lying under Quinn's covers. She hadn't said one word yet and wasn't planning on it. She was grateful that Quinn wasn't pressing her for answers. "Quinn?" _

"_Yes?" The blonde looked up from the book she was reading. _

"_Thank you." _

"_You don't need to thank me." Quinn got up and sat beside Santana. "You're my best friend, I'll always be right by your side whenever you need something. Okay?" Santana nodded. _

"_My parents. They're horrible." Santana cried. _

_Quinn shook her head and pulled Santana in closer. "Yes, but you're amazing. Got that? In a few years we'll be out of this hell hole. We'll be rich and fabulous." She laughed and was happy to hear Santana doing the same ... _

Why Quinn never came to her? She had no idea and it hurt.

Santana finished her bottled water in two sips. "Oh look, I need some more water." Santana groaned sarcastically and left the table.


End file.
